Kerry Haigh, chief championship officer of the P.G.A. of America, is answerable for the setup this week. “We’ll have the fairways rolling quick, and that tends to make the ball go into the tough,” Harris mentioned. “That’s the safety of the golf course. The individuals who drive the ball straight will do properly.”
The course is about up with 5 units of tees, every of which adjustments the size of the course. The primary set, known as One Birds, are for the professionals, and so they stretch the course to some 7,600 yards. At instances, that’s even an excessive amount of for some professionals. Simpson mentioned that within the winter — when it’s chilly and the ball isn’t flying as far — he performs the Two Birds, that are simply over 7,000 yards.
“It’s truly actually enjoyable,” Simpson mentioned. “I like going as much as the Two Birds. I play the Three Birds with a pal who’s a plus-2 handicap. I drive it 30 yards previous him. However it’s enjoyable to see how totally different the course performs.” The Three Birds are 6,400 yards. Harris mentioned he enjoys the 4 Birds, that are 5,800 yards.
The one event the place the course was radically totally different from what the members performed was the 2022 Presidents Cup. Quail Hole’s final three holes, often known as the Inexperienced Mile, have determined many tournaments. In head-to-head competitors, similar to at a Presidents Cup, matches are usually over earlier than holes 16, 17 and 18. So the membership switched the routing and put the ending holes in at 10, 11 and 12.
There are challenges for the members. One in every of them is the various kinds of grass planted to swimsuit totally different climate, a course of known as overseeding. For skilled tournaments in Might, the course will get overseeded with rye grass; by the new summer time months, it’s again to Bermuda grass. “The challenges come within the transitions,” mentioned Tom Delozier, common supervisor of the membership.